Newbie here looking for recommendations

[jaydub]

Hello all,

I'm the epitome of gen-x breaking into tech with practically zero experience. I want to utilize servicenow to learn and get certified, but I'm not sure which career path is best for me. I am a former firefighter and currently a professional home inspector. I enjoy analyzing and problem solving. Is SysAdmin the way to go? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

[lpruit2]

Greetings @jaydub. Welcome to ServiceNow Community and congratulations on your journey. Always interested in hearing others' opinions but I would highly recommend checking out ServiceNow University. They have a lot of free on-demand courses that you can take that will help a lot with whatever certification path you choose. They also have helpful knowledge articles that detail the differences between the available "paths" that you can pursue. In my humble opinion, I would start with a ServiceNow Certified System Administrator (CSA) course. Then, if you're interested in learning scripting, I would move on to the ServiceNow Certified Application Developer (CAD) courses. After you have these two certifications under your belt, the sky is the limit. You can then focus on any of the specific modules within ServiceNow that you are interested in: Event Management, IT Service Management (ITSM), Human Resources (HRSC), Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC), etc. 

Training and Certifications - ServiceNow University

List of All ServiceNow Certifications Certificati... - ServiceNow Community

[Jennifer Metz]

Hello @jaydub,

Welcome to the ServiceNow Community.

I would definitely recommend starting with a CSA path as it really does a great job of giving you a good breadth of the platform and it's capabilities. This is where I started and eventually opened the door to more advanced development opportunities.

A system administrator is a very common entry point, so don't think of it as a single destination.  Admin experience gets you comfortable with troubleshooting, security, configurations, and overall platform support. From there you can naturally grow into other roles like a developer, architect, project manager, or business analyst.

ServiceNow has done a great job curating career journeys over on ServiceNow University. This should give you an idea of what options are out there and what the average salaries look like. Towards the bottom of the page they even have an assessment tool that will ask you a few questions to help you decide on the right path.

I wanted to highlight the rise up program as well since you are just starting your journey. This is a free talent incubator run by ServiceNow. You can find more details and apply here. 

If you haven't already, I highly recommend heading over to the developer portal and spinning up a PDI. They have a few learning plans if you just want to dip your toes in and take a look around. As you study, this is the best tool hands down to really practice and solidify your skills.

Good luck on your journey!

[Ankith Sharma]

Welcome to the ServiceNow Community, @jaydub!

If you’re just starting out in the ecosystem, the most effective approach is to build a strong foundation first and explore specialization later — this keeps you from feeling overwhelmed early on.

 1. Begin with the CSA — the universal starting point

The Certified System Administrator (CSA) is the ideal first step because it teaches you:

• how the platform is structured

• how forms, lists, and tables work

• fundamentals of configuration, automation, and access

Everything else in ServiceNow becomes much easier once you’ve mastered these basics.

2. Use a PDI to get hands-on practice immediately

Spinning up a personal developer instance from the Developer Portal is the best way to:

• try out configurations

• build simple flows

• experiment without breaking anything

Practical experience will accelerate your learning more than anything else.|

3. Explore your career path after CSA

Once you understand the platform, you’ll get a clear sense of what you enjoy — whether it’s:

• Admin/Platform Support

• Development

• Implementation Specialist paths (ITSM, HR, SecOps, etc.)

• Business Analysis or Process Consulting

Choosing a specialization becomes much easier with that foundation.

4. Helpful resource on certification order

If you’re unsure about which certifications or micro-certifications to take next, this community thread breaks it down extremely well:
🔗Best Order to Pursue ServiceNow Micro-Certifications
https://www.servicenow.com/community/training-and-certifications/what-is-the-best-order-to-pursue-se...

5.  Additional beginner-friendly resources

• ServiceNow University for structured career journeys

• RiseUp program for guided training

• Developer Portal learning plans for hands-on exercises
  
  

If you found this useful, please mark it as Helpful and Accepted. This action benefits both the community and me.

- Ankit
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharmaankith/

[Its_Azar]

Hi there @jaydub 

For someone starting fresh, System Administrator (CSA) is definitely the best first step. It gives you the core platform skills and opens the door to roles like admin, analyst, or developer. Once you get hands-on with a free PDI and go through the basics, you’ll naturally see which path you enjoy more — building/configuring things (developer/admin) or analyzing processes (business analyst). You’re on the right track, and many people with non-technical backgrounds succeed in ServiceNow. Good luck!